2 days ago I was asked if I could operate a dozer for a bloke cutting tracks for a farmer in some reasonably steep hill country, a job that I haven't done much of since my early 20s which is about 50yrs ago. During the conversation with the dozer owner doubt entered my head so said to that I needed to have a look then give my answer. Off I went,had a look then checked out the machine, a D8t with bout 6000hrs on the clock and started yesterday. Client very happy with my work rate and quality. Today did a section and decided to have a walk to decide were to build the track, parked the dozer, got off and was about 2metres away when I heard a loud brief hiss and the sound of breaking glass. The rear window was smashed and a hole in the RH top and the window wiper bent. Further investigation revealed the small front window pushed out of the frame, shattered, but no hole. This was doing my head in, nothing like a rock or tree branch in the cab,tractor stationary, *** so what would knock glass into the cab from the rear, the knock glass outwards at the front. The penny dropped, it the roar, deer mating season and shooters are going nuts. Seems like a bullet has done this damage and my head could have been in the flight path then missed again on exit when I was walking. All of which proves only the good die young.
Yeah so much of what we experience, good or bad, comes back to luck. That could have been a lot worse.
Sounds like first day of hunting season in nearby NY State....bullets flying way before daylight, their slogan "if it's brown, it's down". Or......someone don't want you dozing there.....
Sounds like an episode of Final Destination
That's what I would be concerned about. May have been very intentional, they were watching and when you left the cab they wanted to send a message.
That sounds like someone was taking a shot at you.
Not doubting what happened but hard to believe it was a stray bullet. Meaning, not thinking it was an accident. Depending on terrain and brush, how could a bullet have worked its way through brush and trees and such, unless they were hunting 100 meters away. What kind of firearms policy, where you are at?
Make sure your wife hasn't made any recent changes to your life insurance policy!
It shouldn't be hunting season, not even close
Many years ago in this general area there was a young fella driving his motorbike in a rough paddock and he was wearing a helmet and a bullet hit the helmet, but barely penetrated it. It was determined it was a stray bullet.
I used to worry about this sort of thing happening all the time. And aways staying aware, and would twist fast and have that blade up quick. Lots of nuts out there. By the way in the US this is getting close to deer birthing time, not hunting time. I love my local deer family, and the cute baby ones.
Glad to hear you made it out safe. I kind of watch our fall season when out looking at jobs in the woods. A yellow safety vest never hurts. He's in Australia, its fall there.
Yeah, he is down under......"Roar"==rut up north
Lol that really funny about the opposite seasons, not the whole shooting thing
When is was about 8yrs old dad reconded it was time I learnt to use a rifle. 2 things he was anial about, identify the target and absolutely be aware of the background. If anything didn't align don't fire. This included rocks etc,a decision taking nano seconds to make. At 19 I joined the army and basic training was exactly the same. So as for stray bullets,that is ********, it's incompetent users. Talked to a mate last night who did 30yrs service and was the RSM at Tarin Kot Afghanistan when a parade was shot up killing 5 Ozzie's. He said with my level of hearing and the noise of the dozer engine idling the slug was only inches away which was the hiss I heard. To stop this crap registered fire arm owners should have to do a live fire exercise similar to what the Special Forces do in urban combat training where split second decision making is required. One bad decision requires them to forfeit their firearms and licence for a year. That would sort the wheat from the chaff.
Glad I don’t live there. Live free or Die. If we had had that kind of firearms requirements here, we would still have a king. Lol.
while I agree with much of what you've said, I still don't see that training requirement is needed if the personal responsibility is upheld for all, no excuses.
Required firearm training and license works just about as well as required drivers license and training.
Or, as an old mate of mine always said - "Some practical experience on the 2-way rifle range". Don't knock it. You might find you'd have been far better off.
Nige: "Don't knock it. You might find you'd have been far better off." When I hear about the folks sentenced to prison for posting derogatory comments about your immigrant problem I really doubt it.
OP needs a protective uniform:
Here are the pic of the event
I don't believe this was deliberate because the front window wasn't punctured which to my thinking that the velocity had dropped off. I'm thinking the hiss I heard was the round which had ricochet between the glass and frame and I was approximately in that line and walking away from the machine.
If it was a legal shooter it would be easy to track them down and rip a charge up them, as they should have the landholders permission as a minimum. There would be a few dollars involved replacing that glass. Illegal, they are pretty cocky trespassing during the day.
The rear window was over a grand. The big problem was the lack of forensics and me moving the machine which I did under the owners instructions according to the police. All along the SE Queensland coastal ranges poaching is a huge problem year round with seemingly very little done about it, just worse at this time of the year
Glad you are ok Tones, that's nuts!
That's a sick feeling. I remember being over a hill from some bird hunters and hearing the 'ssssssssh' of the shotgun pellets just overhead.
I was working on a well with some dove hunters next section over got tunnel vision and shot at us and shot hit the cab of the truck. We yelled and they left . Next time they will get some back
That's scary!
I hope you have a food taster
So that story has reached that far? This country is getting weirder by the day. Also currently have inquest into sad story of crazy dude who stabbed six people to death in a shopping mall.
Miss as good as a mile, that was a close one, close is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades. Any day above ground is a good one. Scary--that's a 5/8's high test chain for recovery that no longer will coil up and the ends of each link have turned white fused together and it forms a stick.
I've seen that before, stood like a proud Cock.
To keep it clean you must be referring to one of these *
We found a bullet lodged in an impossible spot in our front porch siding one day shortly after moving into our current house. We were sitting out there and I looked over and saw a small hole in the siding that I hadn't previously noticed. It's a covered porch and the hole was about 5 feet from the porch floor. There are a fair amount of trees and growth in the direction the bullet would have come from, so that seems unlikely, the only thing I can think is that it bounced into place and for that to happen the angle would have gone right past our faces where we normally sit. I didn't like to see that much.
You sure it was a Cat dozer? Not a Deere?
My father had served three tours in Army Air Corp, then US Air Force. Before that he had used guns for food. It got drummed into my head at a very early age how to use a gun, & how not to use a gun.
Well done.
Probably thought it was a feral Cat.
Stray bullets are real and happen more than you realize. I have personally been involved with 3. 2 were tracers. One was shooting at a water target bounced and went out through the woods 308 cal. Another one was into a dirt berm it hit the large berm and went straight up 308 cal, diappeared 1/2 mile up. The 3rd was a direct ricochet directly back to my forehead shooting steel plates. The jacket cut my forehead 556 cal. Seen all kinds of wierd things happen shooting cars too.
Up above is why I will never buy a 50 cal
J ust today, probably not that far north of Tones incident, a couple of drop kicks were target shooting in the direction of a major highway. Shut the road down for four hours after reports from the public and bullet damage discovered in the concrete divider between north and south lanes.
FFS idiot's with firearms trying to get their jollies. Meanwhile the whole firearm owning community suffers.
Is this what you were referring to. https://x.com/Theblackfemini3/status/1921390081660854548?t=G4-JPuXrJuXzA6WKVeqaLw&s=19
That would be it.